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Cricket in the United States

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Cricket in the United States is a sport played at the amateur, club, intercollegiate and international competition levels with little popularity, with 200,000 players (<0.1% of the population) across the country.[1] Major League Cricket is the highest level of domestic T20 cricket currently played in America, with T20 being the format of the game that much of the recent growth in American cricket is occurring in.[2][3]

Cricket in the United States
CountryUnited States
Governing bodyUSA Cricket
National team(s)United States
First playedbefore 1700
National competitions
International competitions
A Sri Lankan-American child playing cricket in Virginia

In 2006 it was estimated that 30,000 people in the United States play or watch cricket annually.[4] By 2017, this figure had risen to 200,000 people playing cricket in 6,000 teams.[5] Cricket in the United States is not as popular as baseball and is not as popular among as large a fraction of the population as it is within either the Commonwealth nations or the other ICC full member (or Test cricket) nations.[6] There are at least two historical reasons for the relative obscurity of cricket within the United States. One reason was the 19th-century-rise of the summer time bat-and-ball sport now called baseball, which displaced cricket as a popular pastime.[6] Another reason was that in 1909 when the ICC was originally organized as the Imperial Cricket Conference it was open only to Commonwealth nations and thereby excluded the U.S. from participating in the sport at the highest level.[7]

Nevertheless, in 1965 the U.S. was admitted to the renamed ICC as an associate member and the sport grew in popularity in the second half of the 20th century. An oft mentioned reason for the growing popularity of cricket is the growing population of immigrants to the U.S. who come from cricket playing nations.[4][6]

With the launching of the United States Youth Cricket Association in 2010, a more focused effort to bring the game to American schools was begun, with the intention of broadening cricket's fan base beyond expatriates and their children.[8] In addition, USA Cricket has begun offering various championship tournaments for youth cricketers, such as the MLC Jr. Championship.[9]

ESPN has been stepping up its coverage of cricket in recent years, buying the cricket website Cricinfo in 2007, and broadcasting the final of the 2014 ICC World Twenty20 competition, the 2014 Indian Premier League, English County Championship games, and international Test cricket.[10]

In 2021, Minor League Cricket, a professional Twenty20 cricket league sanctioned by USA Cricket, began play. Major League Cricket is planning to launch its first season in 2023.[11][12] In addition, various championships and pathways are being offered for youth cricketers, such as the MLC Jr. Championship.[13]

History

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Main articles: History of United States cricket and Wicket (sport)
 
The Belmont Cricket Club in 1905.

Cricket was played by British colonists in North America by the start of the 18th century.[14] Archived references to cricket played in America date from 1709. A New York newspaper from 1739 contains an advertisement for cricket players and the first documented competition occurred in 1751 in Manhattan.[15] According to William Byrd II's diary, cricket was played on the slave plantations of Virginia, including on his Westover estate among neighbors and slaves.[16] By 1793, Dartmouth College students were playing cricket on the Green.[17]

Philadelphia was the crucible of North American cricket and remains so today.[4] Haverford College formed a cricket team in 1833, generally accepted as the first cricket club exclusively for Americans.[18] Haverford and the University of Pennsylvania formed a strong rivalry, with the first match played on May 7, 1864, believed to be start of the third-oldest intercollegiate sporting contest in America, after the 1852 Harvard-Yale crew and 1859 Amherst-Williams baseball matches.[19] Haverford and Penn then proceeded to play each other for three consecutive years until 1869, when the Haverford faculty banned cricket away from their college grounds.[20] From 1875 and through 1880, Haverford College, Columbia College and University of Pennsylvania fielded a varsity elevens, which played a few matches each year against each other and other club teams.[21]

In 1881, Penn, Harvard College, Haverford College, Princeton College (then known as College of New Jersey), and Columbia College formed The Intercollegiate Cricket Association,[22] which Cornell University later joined.[23] During the 44 years that The Intercollegiate Cricket Association existed (1881 through 1924) Penn won The Intercollegiate Cricket Association championship (the de facto national championship) 23 times (3 shared with Haverford and Harvard, 1 shared with Haverford and Cornell, and 1 shared with just Haverford), Haverford won such championship 19 times (3 shared with Penn and Harvard, 1 shared with Penn and Cornell, and 1 shared with Penn), and Harvard won it 6 times, none after 1899 (3 shared with Haverford and Penn).[24][circular reference][25]

In July 1895 an international cricket match between Canada and the United States was played on the Manheim grounds in Germantown section of Philadelphia with six of the United States team being Penn student athletes and, in September of that year, past and then current members of Penn's varsity cricket team played past and then current members of the English cricket teams of Oxford and Cambridge resulting in Penn defeating the Oxford-Cambridge team by one hundred runs.[23] This was not surprising as in the last two and a half decades of the 19th century and first decade of the 20th century, Philadelphia was the center of cricket in the United States[26] Cricket had gained in popularity among the upper class from their travels abroad and cricket clubs sprung up all across the Eastern Seaboard (even today Philadelphia still has three cricket clubs: the Philadelphia Cricket Club, the Merion Cricket Club and the Germantown Cricket Club).

The eleven-person team cricket familiar with Americans today took root most effectively at the St. George's Cricket Club, founded in 1838.[16] Clubs from the United States (St. George's CC) and Canada participated in one of the first international cricket matches on record in 1844 in Bloomingdale Park in Manhattan.[27][28] Cricket received a significant amount of media coverage at the time. In the mid-19th century, the sport was played in approximately 125 cities in 22 states. Roughly 500 officially established clubs existed and it is probable that in 1860 there were 10,000 boys and men in America who had actively played the sport for at least a season.[15]

St. George's CC employed Sheffield native Samuel Wright as its professional cricket playing groundsman. Wright's two sons, Harry and George, played for the United States XXII against the All England XI in 1859 in New York and Philadelphia.[29] Both Wright brothers became renowned in baseball circles after they played for the Cincinnati Red Stockings, America's first professional baseball team.[29] English cricket teams toured American regularly. Richard Daft's England side visited in 1869, when they played in New York and Philadelphia. Then with the spread of cricket to Boston, Lord Hawke's England XI played George Wright's New England Cricket XI at the Longwood Country Club in Boston. On the same tour in 1891 Lord Hawke's XI defeated a Germantown CC XI in Philadelphia, which included George Patterson, regarded as America's best batsman, with several centuries to his credit. George Patterson – referred to as America's W.G. Grace – was an American-born cricketer and lawyer by profession, described as brilliant under pressure when facing first-class English sides.[29]

 
A depiction of cricket (top) and baseball (bottom)

It may have been during the Civil War that baseball overtook cricket and secured its place as America's game.[30] An army making a brief stop at a location could easily organise a game of baseball on almost any clear patch of ground, while cricket required a carefully prepared pitch. After the Civil War, baseball became a much more organized sport than cricket in America, with more money and competition available to baseball players across the country;[31][32] thus, baseball began to poach players and administrators from the world of cricket. It has been suggested that the fast-paced quick play of baseball was more appealing to Americans than the technical slower game of cricket,[30] which at the time was played over a much longer duration than baseball;[33] some attempts were made to nativize cricket in a way that would reduce its length and other perceived disadvantages relative to baseball, such as the American innovation of wicket, a variation of cricket which could be played in an afternoon.[34][35] However, the natural tendency toward baseball was compounded by terrible American defeats at the hands of a traveling English side in 1859, which may have caused Americans to think that they would never be successful at this English game.[36] By the end of the Civil War, most cricket fans had given up their hopes of broad-based support for the game. Baseball filled the role of the "people's game" and cricket became an amateur game for gentlemen.[30][37]

Governing bodies

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The United States of America Cricket Association (USACA) previously served as the governing body for cricket in the United States, as an associate member of the ICC from 1965 to 2017. The USACA faced turmoil and governance issues in the 2000s and early 2010s. In 2005 the USACA was suspended from the ICC's annual conference due to issues with the association's election process, but that suspension was lifted in March 2006.[38] In February 2006, a competing commercial body, Major League Cricket (MLC), proposed that it replace the USACA as the United States' representative in the ICC, citing its more substantial efforts in developing the sport in the country (especially at grassroots levels such as schools, which the USACA had ignored), and accused the USACA of having "the morbid opinion that they do not need any outside assistance whereas the development of the game."[39][40]

The USACA was suspended by the ICC in 2007 for its failure to adopt a constitution and hold elections in a timely manner, and the U.S. team pulled out of the World Cricket League Division Three.[41] The organization was suspended once again in 2015, citing "significant concerns about the governance, finance, reputation and cricketing activities" of the organization. However, the U.S. team was still allowed to continue competing in events such as the 2015 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier, with ICC Americas serving as an interim caretaker of its cricket operations.[42][43] In 2017, the ICC voted to expel the USACA, citing its increasing debt and failure to ratify a certified constitution.[42]

In January 2019, a new body known as USA Cricket was approved as a new associate member of the ICC, replacing the USACA as the United States' representative.[44][45]

National teams

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Men's team

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Main article: United States men's national cricket team

In 2018, the U.S. men's team was promoted to Division Two of the World Cricket League for the first time.[46] In 2019, the United States qualified for the inaugural season of its replacement, the ICC Cricket World Cup League 2, whose top teams will move on to the qualifier for the 2023 Cricket World Cup.[47][48] On November 16, 2021, the ICC announced that the United States and West Indies would co-host the 2024 Men's T20 World Cup.[49] It will be the first ICC World Cup tournament to feature matches played in the United States - with three venues finalized in New York, Florida & Texas.[50]

In December 2021, the United States hosted Ireland in a T20I and ODI series, which marked the country's first-ever home series against a Test-playing nation.[51][52] The two teams split the T20 series.[53][54] However, the ODI series was cancelled due to COVID-19 issues.[55]

Women's team

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Main article: United States women's national cricket team

In November 2021, the United States won the 2021 Women's T20 World Cup Americas Qualifier, advancing to the global qualifier for the 2023 Women's T20 World Cup.[56]

Domestic competitions

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There have been various attempts at domestic cricket leagues in the United States: Pro Cricket was formed in 2004 as a commercial cricket league not sanctioned by the ICC, which played a modified T20 format with changes intended to further increase the pace of the game, including five-ball overs.[57] The USACA, later in partnership with New Zealand Cricket, proposed a T20 competition known as the American Premier League, patterned after competitions such as the Indian Premier League. It was announced in 2009, but never came to fruition.[58][59] The American Twenty20 Championship was later held in 2011 as a three-day event in New Jersey between regional teams, to help develop and promote American players.[60]

Via the investment arm American Cricket Enterprises (ACE), USA Cricket has sanctioned the domestic T20 league Minor League Cricket, and plans to launch the professional competition Major League Cricket (no relation to the aforementioned organization) in 2023.[61]

International competitions

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The United States has been targeted as a growth market for T20 cricket with the 2023 launch of Major League Cricket, co-hosting of the 2024 T20 World Cup (logo above), and cricket being included in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.[62][63]

On November 16, 2021, the International Cricket Council announced that the United States along with the West Indies would co-host the 2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup, making the first ICC World Cup Tournament to take place in the United States.[64][65] Team USA upset Team Pakistan in the 2024 Cricket World Cup.[66]

Cricket grounds

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Main article: List of cricket grounds in the United States
 
Students playing cricket at Dartmouth College in 1793

There are only a few purpose-built cricket grounds in the United States, they include the Germantown Cricket Club Ground and the Philadelphia Cricket Club Ground[67] in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the Randolph St. George Walker Park on Staten Island, New York; the Central Broward Regional Park in Lauderhill, Florida; and the Leo Magnus Cricket Complex in Van Nuys, California.

The Indianapolis World Sports Park in Indianapolis, Indiana, which features cricket grounds, was completed in 2014, and hosted the USACA's national championship that year.[68]

The game is also played on a number of shared purpose venues, including Van Cortlandt Stadium in Bronx, New York.

In 2021, American Cricket Enterprises leased AirHogs Stadium, the home field of the defunct Texas AirHogs baseball team, to redevelop it as a cricket-specific stadium and USA Cricket training facility.[61] The revamped stadium was completed in 2023 and it was named as Grand Prairie Stadium.

The main cricket grounds in the United States include:

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "About Domestic Cricket". USA Cricket. Retrieved September 12, 2021.
  2. ^ "Strategy". USA Cricket. Archived from the original on March 31, 2019. Retrieved August 18, 2021. [USA Cricket] will seek to position Twenty20 cricket at the center of our plans and will set up our domestic structure and design our key initiatives and activities accordingly.
  3. ^ "Once a popular pastime in the US, cricket is coming back for the T20 World Cup". South China Morning Post. May 22, 2024. Retrieved May 25, 2024. That cricket is making a comeback, of sorts, in the US through its shortest format – in T20 – maybe makes sense.
  4. ^ a b c Worrall, Simon (October 2006). "Cricket, Anyone?". Smithsonian. Archived from the original on June 16, 2008. Retrieved July 18, 2009.
  5. ^ "American cricket gets ready for take-off". BBC News. October 14, 2017. Retrieved October 15, 2017.
  6. ^ a b c Chetwynd, Josh. "Cricket, anyone? Obvious similarities make baseball, cricket sibling sports". Retrieved July 22, 2009.
  7. ^ "International Cricket Council – The ICC – About The Organisation – History". Archived from the original on July 6, 2009. Retrieved July 22, 2009.
  8. ^ Della Penna, Peter. "Have Kit, Will Play". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved April 28, 2011.
  9. ^ Dunmore, Tom. "Youth Cricketers to benefit from the new pathways created by MLC". Major League Cricket. Retrieved September 12, 2021.
  10. ^ Pengelly, Martin (April 13, 2014). "Why America will learn to love cricket". The Guardian. Retrieved April 13, 2014.
  11. ^ "Minor League Cricket: T20 league in USA kicks off with Sami Aslam, Corey Anderson in the mix". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved August 21, 2021.
  12. ^ "Dallas-Fort Worth Will Have the Country's Second Major Cricket Stadium". November 24, 2020.
  13. ^ Dunmore, Tom. "Youth Cricketers to benefit from the new pathways created by MLC". Major League Cricket. Retrieved September 9, 2021.
  14. ^ Das, Deb K. "Cricket in the USA". Cricinfo. Retrieved July 20, 2009.
  15. ^ a b Malcolm, Dominic (2013). Globalizing Cricket. Bloomsbury Publishing. pp. 63–64.
  16. ^ a b Kirsch, George (1989). The Rise of American Team Sports. University of Illinois Press. ISBN 9780252015601.
  17. ^ "History of American cricket Part I – The 1700s". Dreamcricket USA. August 14, 2007. Archived from the original on August 12, 2009. Retrieved July 20, 2009.
  18. ^ Murdoch, Joseph (n.d.). "Philadelphia Cricket Club View Library Document: History". Philadelphia Cricket Club. Archived from the original on September 28, 2007. Retrieved March 30, 2007.
  19. ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20180723200322/http://www.archives.upenn.edu/histy/features/sports/cricket/1864.html and https://www.thedp.com/article/2020/10/penn-cricket-team-historical-feature both accessed April 17, 2021
  20. ^ https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015062223006&view=1up&seq=10 (accessed March 4, 2021)
  21. ^ "CRICKET: PENN'S FIRST ORGANIZED SPORT". Archived from the original on July 23, 2018. Retrieved August 2, 2023.
  22. ^ "Penn's oldest sport goes back 168 years, and it's not one you might think". www.thedp.com. Retrieved April 17, 2021.
  23. ^ a b "CRICKET: PENN'S FIRST ORGANIZED SPORT". Archived from the original on July 23, 2018. Retrieved August 2, 2023.
  24. ^ "Intercollegiate sports team champions".
  25. ^ Seth S. Tannenbaum and Clifton R. Hood (February 2006). "Penn Cricket in the 1800s: Penn's first organized sport: Historical overview". University Archives and Records Center. University of Pennsylvania. Archived from the original on July 4, 2018. Retrieved July 4, 2018.
  26. ^ https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=File%3AThe_land_of_contrasts_-_a_Briton%27s_view_of_his_American_kin_%28IA_cu31924028684805%29.pdf&page=1 see page 110 of 'The land of contrasts - a Briton's view of his American kin'
  27. ^ Williamson, Martin. "The oldest international contest of them all". Cricinfo. Retrieved July 19, 2009.
  28. ^ Marder, John (1968). A History of International Games between Canada and the United States. London, UK: John Wiley &Co.
  29. ^ a b c Sentance, P. David (2006). Cricket in America 1709-2000. North Carolina, USA: MacFarland.
  30. ^ a b c Melville, Tom. Cricket for Americans: Playing and Understanding the Game. (Bowling Green, Ohio: Bowling Green States University Popular Press, 1993), 75.
  31. ^ sabr. "Cricket and Mr. Spalding – Society for American Baseball Research". Retrieved January 5, 2023.
  32. ^ Crown, Daniel (October 19, 2017). "The Battle Between Baseball and Cricket for American Sporting Supremacy". Atlas Obscura. Retrieved January 5, 2023.
  33. ^ "How Cricket Struck Out". HistoryNet. September 12, 2018. Retrieved January 5, 2023.
  34. ^ Guardian Staff (July 27, 2004). "What goes around, comes a-rounders". the Guardian. Retrieved January 5, 2023.
  35. ^ "Before There Was Baseball, There Was Wicket". Connecticut Public. October 31, 2013. Retrieved January 5, 2023.
  36. ^ Frank Leslie's Illustrated Weekly (5 October 1859).
  37. ^ Adelman, Melvin. A Sporting Time: New York City and the Rise of Modern Athletics, 1820–1870. (Urbana, Illinois: University of Illinois Press, 1986).
  38. ^ "ICC suspends USA Cricket Association". Cricinfo. March 3, 2007. Retrieved July 20, 2009.
  39. ^ Williamson, Martin (February 17, 2006). "Cameron approaches ICC in a bid to oust USACA". Cricinfo. Retrieved July 23, 2009.
  40. ^ Das, Deb K. (February 22, 2006). "Mixed response to MLC initiative". ESPNCricinfo. Retrieved July 23, 2009.
  41. ^ "ICC suspends USA Cricket Association". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
  42. ^ a b "USACA expelled by the ICC". ESPNcricinfo. June 22, 2017. Retrieved January 8, 2020.
  43. ^ "ICC suspends USACA over 'significant concerns'". ESPNcricinfo. June 26, 2015. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
  44. ^ "USA plan to launch their T20 League in 2021". ESPNcricinfo. November 27, 2018. Retrieved June 21, 2019.
  45. ^ "USA formally approved to rejoin ICC as Associate Member under USA Cricket". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved January 8, 2019.
  46. ^ "USA roll past Singapore to earn first-ever promotion to WCL Division Two". ESPN Cricinfo. November 19, 2018. Retrieved November 19, 2018.
  47. ^ "Oman and USA secure ICC Men's Cricket World Cup League 2 places and ODI status". International Cricket Council. Retrieved April 24, 2019.
  48. ^ "The road to World Cup 2023: how teams can secure qualification, from rank No. 1 to 32". ESPNcricinfo. August 14, 2019. Retrieved October 16, 2019.
  49. ^ "USA co-hosts for 2024 T20 WC, Pakistan gets 2025 Champions Trophy, India and Bangladesh for 2031 World Cup". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved November 16, 2021.
  50. ^ "T20 World Cup 2024: Full schedule, groups, venues, how to buy tickets". The Economic Times. January 12, 2024. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved March 4, 2024.
  51. ^ "USA to host Ireland in first home series against Full Member". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved November 9, 2021.
  52. ^ "USA v Ireland: Irish to make historic American tour in festive series". BBC Sport. Retrieved November 9, 2021.
  53. ^ "Ireland fight back to beat USA by nine runs and draw T20I series". BBC Sport. Retrieved December 24, 2021.
  54. ^ Penna, Peter Della (December 22, 2021). "Gajanand Singh, Sushant Modani propel USA to historic T20I win over Ireland". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved January 4, 2022.
  55. ^ "USA-Ireland ODI series cancelled due to Covid-19 outbreak". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved December 28, 2021.
  56. ^ "Team USA finish brilliantly as champions of the ICC Americas T20 World Cup Qualifier in Mexico". USA Cricket. October 26, 2021. Retrieved October 26, 2021.
  57. ^ Sandomir, Richard (June 24, 2004). "CRICKET; Pro League Is Planning Fast Matches". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
  58. ^ Lord, Richard (October 17, 2011). "Cricket in U.S. Suffers Key Flaw: It's Not Baseball". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved October 17, 2020.
  59. ^ "USA Cricket inks historic commercial deal with New Zealand Cricket". ESPNcricinfo. December 18, 2010. Archived from the original on December 19, 2010. Retrieved April 4, 2011.
  60. ^ "USA Cricket: Twenty20 Nationals moved from Dallas to NJ; 20 players invited to USA U-19 trials in NY". dreamcricket.com. May 25, 2011. Archived from the original on September 8, 2012.
  61. ^ a b "USA's MLC T20 tournament pushed back to 2023 at AGM". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
  62. ^ "Team USA's T20 cricket story shines light on sport's hope to grow in the U.S." www.sportsbusinessjournal.com. June 12, 2024. Retrieved July 27, 2024.
  63. ^ "T20 cricket confirmed as one of five new sports at LA28". ESPNcricinfo. October 16, 2023. Retrieved July 27, 2024.
  64. ^ "USA to stage T20 World Cup: 2024-2031 ICC Men's tournament hosts confirmed". International Cricket Council. Retrieved November 16, 2021.
  65. ^ "'Land of opportunity': USA is cricket's bold new frontier once again". May 29, 2024.
  66. ^ Omar, Ammad (June 6, 2024). "Team USA beats Pakistan in Cricket World Cup". Sports. All Things Considered. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
  67. ^ "Other Activities at PCC". Archived from the original on February 20, 2009. Retrieved July 14, 2009.
  68. ^ "ICC President Alan Isaac Visits Indianapolis World Sports Park". NewYorkCricket.com. Archived from the original on February 12, 2015. Retrieved April 7, 2014.
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